1925: The kitchen of the Dining Hall was damaged in a fire which destroyed the Penniman Building in the back of the dining hall. Governor Trinkle authorized the construction of a new dining hall after the fire.

March 15, 1930: A fire on March 15 burned the roof, dormer story, and third floor of Chancellors Hall (now known as Tyler Hall), causing $70,142 worth of damage. Temporary roofing was set up on the west end of the hall until June so that classes could be held while construction continued on a permanent roof of the east side.

1948: A fire on the left side of the stadium at Cary Field burned for two hours and cracked the concrete under the stand. However, the damage to the stadium was not too serious.

December 29, 1953: A fire on December 29, 1953 destroyed the auditorium of Phi Beta Kappa Hall (now known as Ewell Hall). John D. Rockefeller, Jr. gave $250,000 to the College of William and Mary in 1954 for the reconstruction of Phi Beta Kappa Hall.

1972: A fire in the project room of the Botetourt Theater in Swem Library.

January 20, 1983: Jefferson Hall was struck by fire. The outer walls remained standing. Reconstruction of the building was turned over to the Buildings and Grounds Department in October 1984.It officially reopened after restoration on January 27, 1985.

May 3, 2005: An exhaust fan sparked a fire in Preston Hall on May 3, 2005. Some students began the next school year living at Colonial Williamsburg's Governor's Inn.[1]

March 3, 2008: A fire in a kitchen wall of the Chi Omega house in Sorority Court on March, 3, 2008, caused minimal damage.[2]

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The SCRC welcomes various forms of support from friends and supporters. Here at the SCRC Wiki we welcome visitors to share what you may know about our collections as well as the traditions, history, and people of the College of William and Mary based on your research or personal experience.

If you would like to share your memories or what you have discovered while using the SCRC's collections, please contact us at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090. We look forward to hearing from you.

Need help?

To search for further material, visit the Special Collections Research Center's Search Tool List for an overview of the Special Collections Database, W&M Digital Archive, Flat Hat-William & Mary News-Alumni Gazette index, card catalogs, and other tools available to help you find material of interest in the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center.

The information available in this wiki is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of the College of William and Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. The information available here is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Information in this wiki is not complete as new information continues to be uncovered in the Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center and elsewhere. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use the Special Collections search tools for their research as the information contained in this wiki is by no means comprehensive.